Blood Angel
by Metatron85
Summary: Jade West survives a brutal attack and is reborn as a nocturnal creature that craves human blood. Her plight is controlling her hunger and finding her place in the world of the living. But when she learns of the hidden order between humans and vampires, Jade becomes our only hope against a monstrous conspiracy. Eventual Jori and much more! The gang's all here but not as you expect.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Okay, so it's time for me to try some AU fiction. This one is rather special to me because it is based on an original screenplay that I wrote a while ago. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to acquire the resources I needed to make it happen. The story got too big. But I have been itching on this one for years so I decided to try something different for once. I threw out my original characters and inserted the people of Victorious as the inhabitants of my world. **_

_**This will be epic in every sense of the word. And I hope that these beloved characters will make it easier for you to come with me on this journey. As always, please leave your feedback and I do like to see who favorited or is following. And those of you who want to take the trip, believe me, it gets spectacular!**_

* * *

The alley was freezing.

Jade believed that the cold ground would help numb the pulsating pain behind her neck.

It didn't.

Her vision was blurring; the only thing she could focus on was the growing pool of crimson before her.

When she finally passed out from the intensity of the agony, it felt as though the earth was giving way from beneath.

Jade West didn't want to die but her body had other plans.

* * *

Jade West was curled up in her bed, sleeping soundly. She rolls over and slowly opens her eyes. Gripping the alarm clock, her face grows grim fast.

"Oh shit!"

She gets up in a whirlwind, scrambling for clothes and shoes. Half dressed, Jade stumbles into the hallway and bumps into her little sister Mira.

She's rubbing her eyes just getting up herself. "What's going on, Jade?"

"We're late, that's what's going on. Get dressed. Now."

"I didn't shower yet."

"You'll shower tonight."

"What about breakfast?"

"Uh, I'll think of something…" Jade's words fade as she dashes out of sight and soon out of earshot.

* * *

Mira and Jade are in their usual spot on the back of the city bus.

"Jade?"

"What?"

"You need to get a new clock."

The eldest West rubs her head which is throbbing from getting up too fast. "Hey guess what?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

Jade's attention is on a tall man looking intently back at her. He barely blinks. She tries to look somewhere else and ignore him when the bus screeches to a halt in front of Warren G. Harding Middle School.

Mira gets up to leave.

"Hey!"

She runs back and Jade discreetly gives her some money.

"For lunch."

"Thanks." Mira's face remains neutral as she runs off the bus.

The tall man rises and walks over to Jade, all while not breaking eye contact. He sits beside her.

He leans close to Jade. "Getting big. What is she, eleven?"

If Jade could stab a man with her eyes, now would be the time to find out. "Why don't you cut the cute talk and tell me what the hell you want, Carl."

"Just checking up on you two." Carl holding up his hands as if being interrogated.

"Look, tell Bernardo that I don't need his protection."

"Now you know he sees you guys as family. And boss takes care of his own"

"I know what he really wants."

"Speaking of which," Carl eyes a portfolio in Jade's grasp. "How's the job hunt coming?"

"I'm actually on my way to an interview, like you didn't know."

Jade stands to pull the stop chain and the conveyance slows down noisily. She looks down on Carl.

"Tell him that I don't like being under surveillance. You're worse than the cops."

Carl smiles. "Just be careful, Jade. It's dangerous out there."

Her eyes narrow and she makes sure to show as much teeth as possible when she spoke. "You would know. Now piss off."

Jade always hated running into one of the gangsters. Particularly, her dad's old partner and best friend. It always caused that memory to flow back like a tidal wave.

* * *

A seven-year-old Jade had a bad dream and went downstairs in their spacious brownstone. The stairs led right into the kitchen where she got a glass of lemonade. She liked that she was able to reach the counter and cabinets now, albeit with a stepping stool.

A commotion in the living room just outside the swinging door. Jade pushes it open slowly and is so transfixed by what she sees she doesn't realize that she is no longer just peeking but is standing in the living room.

Gregory West held a bearded man's mouth shut. He was quite strong so with one arm he was able to restrain the stranger. At first, Jade thought that daddy stopped a mean burglar.

That was until what happened next.

Mr. West pulled out a switchblade from his back pocket with his free hand. He uses the shiny blade along the man's chest like a map's compass. He grins when he finds the spot he's looking for and with surgical precision, goes on to perform a fully conscious vivisection. The bearded man howled and shrieked and eventually gurgled like the sound of someone drowning.

DDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDDEEEE EEEEE!

The scream from his first born snaps West out of it and his face is overcome with both horror and anger.

"Get the hell out of here, Jadelyn! Go!"

"Daddy! Stop! Please, stop it!"

* * *

Jade opens her eyes and sees the walls of the neighboring buildings that made up the alley. This time the freezing cold was much more mild. Almost muted.

She fought for her life and won. But it was a victory savored in the blink of an eye. She felt behind her neck and the wound was still there. Pain was gone. So was the blood.

Her body got very tense over that second revelation.


	2. Chapter 2

Jade brings herself to her feet, eyes focusing better. In fact, much better. Her sight was probably never sharper; a far cry from the blurriness when she was near death. She clutches the wall to prevent from falling over. All things considered she felt better but she was completely drained.

Stopping in front of city hall, the giant digital clock bathes the block in a warm glow. The time read: 4:59. It filled Jade with panic but she couldn't put her finger on why. The vanishing chill in the air becomes apparent. Jade cannot understand this feeling she has. One thing was familiar, though: she was hungry.

Jade staggers to a food truck that is being prepared for the early morning business. She stares at the silver box with its awning still shut. She pounds on it.

"Fuck off, not open yet!" can be heard coming from the inside.

Jade grimaces at the dismissal. She certainly wasn't in the mood right now as if there was a time when she would otherwise let that slide.

BAM! BAM!

"What the hell is wrong with you? Go to the 7-11."

BAAAANNNNGGGGG BAAAAANNNNNNGGGGGGGG!

That time Jade made a noticeable dent in the broad side of the sandwich truck. She was quite surprised herself and backs away. Suddenly the proprietor emerges from the inside and looks at the large mark and then to Jade. His face was bemused to say the least.

"Did you…did you just do that?"

Jade doesn't answer but she doesn't have to. The man looks around and sees nobody for yards around. It couldn't have been anywhere else. He runs back into the truck, thinking she might be on something. They only come out when it gets dark.

* * *

Jade wanders the streets thinking about everything that's happened in the last few hours.

She was walking home from her job, shortly after midnight. The boss stuck her with checking the inventory. Jade took the route that led to Levinson Ave. It was the best lit almost the whole way to the bus stop. Not tonight.

Several street lamps were out due to underground work on the neighboring city grid. Jade traversed this path so many times, she wasn't worried. At first.

An unease permeated in the air; like that feeling you know you're being watched. Jade was confident that someone was following her but she was afraid to stop and look fearing that it would initiate the pending assault or robbery. Instead, she tried to utilize her peripheral vision to check the walls of the various shops for shadows. Nothing. But that bad feeling remained.

Without thinking, Jade ducks into an alley. It was dark except for a lone bulb hanging outside an Italian restaurant. It flickered like a building that old would. They always had faulty wiring.

She backs behind as dumpster and fixates on the entrance to the alley. Him or they had to appear. What Jade wasn't aware of was that whatever _was_ following her somehow got the advantage from above.

It was a struggle with various fragments. When all was said and done, all Jade could remember was a mess of hair and blood. It didn't take long for Jade to end up flat on her back with the attacker on top of her, pawing away like a rabid dog. The most painful and surreal moment of this attack was when the stranger sinks his teeth into her flesh.

Jade has read stories before of women getting beaten and raped while walking at night. Never heard of anybody being bitten like they were a steak. She expected this brute to take a chunk out of her neck. She wouldn't put it past him. He seemed crazy enough.

An intense lightheadedness overcame her. She didn't realize she had lost that much blood. Jade's thoughts were of her baby sister Mira. Ever since mom left and eventually dad dying, Jade had become caretaker of her practically overnight. She still doesn't completely know how to take care of herself so being in charge of a preteen's welfare is as smooth a transition as, well, death. But what other choice did she have? There was no family. And Jade didn't trust putting her into the system; not only because of the slim chances of seeing her ever again but also that Bernardo would have enough influence to claim her somehow.

Jade refused to allow that. Nobody is going to ever claim her but her own sister. She loved Mira and she may not always know what's best for her but she definitely knew what wasn't.

Eventually, Jade's mind began to blank and she focused more on her injuries. The fatal wound behind her neck was by far the most painful. However, being tossed around like a rag doll on the concrete practically killed her back and right arm. Immobile, she cried for help but nobody came. This part of town at this hour, it didn't seem likely.

Still, not one person? Just one? If one person was there to help…

Maybe…

Maybe…

* * *

Jade clutches her chest on concern when the clock from a bank alerts her that its almost six. Time has gotten away from her.

The sun should be coming up right about now.

_Why the fuck does _that_ terrify me?_

Nothing from any memory could serve an explanation. There was something base about it; an animalistic instinct. Kind of like our hesitation in dark places. But in this case, it was daybreak that frightened Jade to her foundation.

She saw the street map indicating a subway station. Immediately she gripped the railing and leapt down the stairs. Jade was now underground but there was plenty of where the sun can reach for her. To harm her. So she retreated deeper and deeper, past the platform and into the catacombs. There was a wooden border so she wasn't concerned about a train hurtling through the tunnel she was walking in.

There was a few yellow construction lights shining brightly. These artificial lights didn't perturb Jade, despite how powerful they were. Once she got even further into the abandoned tunnel until those lights began to fade, did she stop to rest.

Jade sits down, leaning against the tunnel wall. Even though she was in total darkness, she could somehow see. But it was kind of like a night vision sort of thing. Probably how cats must see when it's night.

Speak of the devil. A tabby jumps into Jade's line of sight. It didn't look very good. Must have been down here for quite a while and it had no collar. Rabies being the least of her worries, Jade picks up the feline and stares intently at it.

_Well, I still haven't eaten yet. _

But those green eyes tore up Jade's insides and even though it looked worse for the wear, she let it go. She couldn't bring herself to kill something like that, even if it was for food.

Jade rises and proceeds down the tunnel some more. There must be something to eat here. The thought still creeped her out. She never in her life ever looked at a housecat and thought "lunch."

_But I'm not alive anymore, am I?_


	3. Chapter 3

Jade woke up on a bench at one of the dark abandoned stations. She must have passed out. The pain was excruciating; like her whole body quivered from hunger. It was a powerful need that she had never experienced before. One thing she understood is that as the hours passed, her body grew weaker.

A loud crash startles Jade from her turmoil.

A lanky man in a long black coat lays at the bottom of the stairs. His face was pouring in sweat. He quickly rights himself to his feet and roots around in a red woman's purse. The thief pulls out a small flashlight to see better and the creaking of the platform seating makes him point the shaft of light forward.

The man's face grew frenzied as he dropped the purse while keeping the light steady. With his newly-free hand he pulls out a long bayonet. Jade was terrified beyond belief.

"Okay, bitch, stand up!"

Jade swiftly obliges, hands raised. The man moves close to her.

"Turn around."

After completing the command, the thief brings his knife hand around Jade's neck, keeping her at bay. With his other hand he fumbles around in her jacket and pants pockets. Frowning, all he pulls out is a wallet. Only a little bit of cash, a bus pass, and some pictures. He throws down the purple wallet and its contents in disgust.

His fingers come across a sterling bracelet. Her mother gave that to her.

"No," Jade pleaded.

"What? What did you say to me?"

"Don't take it. Take my money just don't…"

He whips her around, grabbing her arm.

"Bullshit! This trinket's worth more than that crap," he yells pointing to the floor.

"You can't…" Jade's words were stifled by the creep stabbing her in the side and throwing her down to the floor.

She holds back the flowing blood that after a few moments begins to…stop. Jade removes her hand drenched in red from her side, which has become exposed after the fall. She lifts her shirt a little more to see. The stab wound has healed over in seconds. The eyes of the two meet and the robber was frightened.

"What the hell are you?" he mutters to himself. He steps backwards, not paying attention that the platform was ending. The purse snatcher falls with a crack onto the train tracks. Had they been active, he would have fried like an egg instantly.

Looking up helplessly, Jade enters his view.

The fall sliced up the guy's leg badly. The red blood, warm and sticky, made Jade salivate. All thought vanished from her mind and she leapt like an animal on top of her second attacker in the past 24 hours.

This time, she was going to make him pay.

Jade finds the discarded bayonet and brandishes it in front of is face.

"You gonna kill me?"

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Jade quipped licking her lips in anticipation. "I have a better use for you. Never too late for charity and you're about to end hunger."

She grazes the paralyzed thief's torso just far enough to allow the red to flow freely and be as painful as possible. Murder was not in her plans, even if she entertained that kind of retribution mentally during the assault. The man's unendurable agony bounced off the walls back and forth.

Jade wouldn't have been surprised if someone on the surface heard his cries of pain and fear.

Gooseflesh appeared all over his body. He was about to experience a terror unlike anything he inflicted on his victims. Jade leaned in closer and closer until her face was in line with his wounds. She lapped up the blood off his stomach and chest.

At one point her face was buried in the grisly mess and she emerged from it, red syrup dripping from her chin. This was more than the satisfaction of a craving. It was a tremendous physical release.

Jade wipes her mouth, smiling maniacally.

* * *

When the cops arrived on the scene, the thief's story was taken in by the men on patrol. His account made him sound like one of those drunk UFO abductees.

"Shapiro! Find anything?"

A tall, thin young beat cop runs up. "Yes, Captain." He points to a few feet from where the injured criminal was found. "Blood over here. I'm having it sent to the lab for analysis."

"Witnesses?"

"None."

"The purse?"

"Got it. Looks like we caught him before he could hock it."

"Okay, kid. Make sure that you secure the crime scene. No civilians. No press."

"Yes sir."

Officer Robert Shapiro was fresh out of the academy and never forgot that point when he was around veterans like Captain Mills. His beat was late night on this side of town. Surprisingly the only action he's seen for months was a raving derelict.

He did his best to make himself think that what he was doing mattered but in his heart he knew different.

He was about to leave when Mills called him back. "Shapiro!"

"Captain?"

"Didn't the victim say that he was wearing a black coat?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to all of you for your kind reviews. It's nice to see people interested and following. For those of you that have stayed, you will be rewarded with one terrific story. And if you know others that have given up after the first chapter or two, that's my fault. The very beginning was always my toughest part in writing the original version. I never could get it quite right. Trust me, tell them to come back. They don't want to miss out ;-)**

* * *

Fortunately, by the time Jade figured how to get out of the subway and back to the surface the sun began setting. It wasn't dark yet but she found comfort in the long coat that enveloped her body. The high, stiff collar practically hid her face. She wandered the streets marked by the ensuing twilight.

* * *

It got dark by the time Jade stood before the door to her apartment. She knocked on it.

"Mira, you there! It's me."

No answer.

She pulls out her key and her progress of opening the door is impeded by the chain. She _had_ to be home.

Poking her face through as much as possible, Jade called out "Mira!" Nothing. "Mira please, open the door!" Silence. Jade steps back and kicks the door in, sending the golden chain flying.

Jade enters and looks around. When she didn't come back home last night, girl must be assuming the worst. But there wasn't much else she could go to. "Mira!" The pit of her stomach was really giving her a bad feeling. "Mira, you can stop hiding!"

It was then that Jade noticed the open window leading into the living room.

She immediately ran into her sister's bedroom. Nothing. Then she checked her own. She found what she was looking for. But not as she left her.

There was massive amounts of blood. Toppled furniture and other paraphernalia indicated a serious struggle. Mira's clothes were strewn about. It wasn't until Jade walked to the other side of the bed that she saw her body.

Mira laid in the fetal position, arms covering her face instead of towards her chest. Whatever bastard attacked her unleashed fresh blows up until her final breath. Anybody would have said it was unnecessary but Jade didn't care. She picked up Mira's left arm and checked for a pulse. Nothing.

Whatever attacked Jade the night before was vicious but it didn't kill her. But whomever or whatever did this was even more unforgiving. _And she was just a fucking kid! _

Jade sat down on the floor beside her lifeless sister and pulls her close to her chest. Holding her, rocking back and forth, Jade and Mira were in a similar position that time she got bad food poisoning and was throwing up every hour.

But Mira wasn't sick. She would never get better. Jade cursed herself how she could survive but a young girl couldn't be spared. Despite this new physical strength and apparent invulnerability, Jade couldn't feel more helpless than she does right now. All she could do was cry, her tears disappearing into her sister's dark brown hair.

* * *

Officer Shapiro clocks out from his shift and goes down to the third floor of Precinct One to target practice. He signs in and gets his safety gear.

Rob placed the ear protection on his head and pressed the button on the wall. A loud bell rang and the paper target zipped far to the back wall. He pulls out his standard issue and fires his rounds squarely at the poster of a generic torso and head. Once his gun ran empty, Rob lowers his weapon and hits the button to send the target back to its starting position.

He landed seven shots out of his clip. Six of them would have in and of themselves been fatal.

_Not bad for a kid_, he thought.

* * *

A tall young man sleeps in his chair, a crucifix dangling from his drooping right hand. The phone rings and he pulls out a gun, pointing it toward the space behind the chair. He huffs when he realizes that it's the cellphone on his table.

"Hello?" he answers it in a groggy and irritated voice.

An elderly man is heard on the other line. "You asleep?"

"Sorry, but getting to sleep at night is a luxury these days for me."

"Are you watching?"

The man rubs his eyes "Watching what?"

"The news. Turn on _Headline_."

He raises a remote nearby on the table and pushes the button and begins scrolling the channels before landing on the 24-hour news station.

"…police still have no leads on the this Samaritan with a penchant for the sadistic. The man, identified as Ben Clarke, was found badly injured in an abandoned subway station. He claims that a woman attacked him and drank his blood. While Mr. Clarke was found with deep cuts and significant blood loss, authorities attribute these claims as from being in shock…"

The TV mutes.

"So our suspicions on the Northeast were sound," the elder said.

"You want me to head out tonight?"

"Better leave tomorrow. It's going to take time to prepare. If our sources are accurate, we might be looking at one of the highest concentrations of vampire activity in the United States."

"I'll overview my inventory."

The boy hand to hang up. He was now a man on a mission.

* * *

After weeping for several hours, Jade was finally able to collect herself enough to stand, pick up Mira's body and place it gently on her own bed like she did many times when she was little.

Jade stroked Mira's hair away from her face. She was like a sleeping angel. The elder sister's fists clenched hard. She went into a rampage around the apartment, smashing everything in sight. Nothing was safe. No personal possession, Jade's or Mira's, held any significance anymore.

Mira was dead and in some cruel cosmic joke, she was left all alone. And clearly no longer human.

The liquid hate boiled in her guts. All she could think of was breaking the goddamn beast that snuffed out her baby sister.

Jade jumped out the window and scales the fire escape onto the roof. She stared down the city illuminated by thousands of manmade lights. Somewhere down there, was the thing that murdered Mira. And Jade doesn't care if she had to face the thing that almost killed her. Whatever the guilty one was…

She would make them pay.


	5. Chapter 5

Despite having no leads, Jade did have a place to begin. She was privy to a virtual network of thieves, creeps, killers and other lowlifes. And their constant interference with her life, they were probably guilty for bringing some kind of heat on her and her sister. When you're a daughter of the mob, you and your sibling being attacked all within two days is far from coincidental.

She still had a card from Carl with his address on it. He gave it to her pretty much right after she turned seventeen. Sick bastard.

Jade knocked on the door with her foot and the steel rectangle flew off its hinges. She surprised him while he was making coffee. His quick movements away from the commotion caused the nearly full pot to shatter on the floor. Jade briefly thought what a pointless waste of perfectly good coffee it was.

She pulled his arms behind his back and slammed him against the wall. His face was mushed against it enough that he felt like he was going through it.

"Talk." Jade growled.

"Jade, what a surprise" he squeezed through his lips. "Please come in."

"Alright, Mr. Comedian, we'll do it the hard way." With that Jade twisted his left wrist with an audible crack. Carl howled at the pain. "Now that I have your full attention: something tries to kill me the night before and then I return home this evening and my sister's dead."

She whips him around quickly and slams him against the wall, this time facing eye to eye with her. Jade's arm presses against Carl's throat.

"Explain," her eyes made that last meeting on the bus seem loving.

Carl shakes his head while choking on his words, "She's fucking dead?"

Jade picks him up almost two feet from the floor. "Yeah, fancy that! You give me a warning about being careful and surprise, bad shit happened."

"I swear, I know nothing about it!"

"BULLSHIT!"

"I've done a lot of things. But ask anybody. I don't do women or kids. I'm a murdering bastard but I'm no mons…"

Jade squeezed his neck even harder. She didn't want him to finish that word. Sore spot for her considering the circumstances. After about eight seconds, she lets go and the large Mafioso gasps for air.

"Mir…Mira…was…aahhh…I would never…"

"Then tell me what did."

Carl coughs heavily. "I told you, I don't know."

"The Syndicate? The Russians? Somebody?"

"Hey, look, our business it could be anybody. Maybe a spook discover…"

Jade flips him onto his coffee table, breaking it into kindling. "That was no fucking fed!. They destroyed her!"

Carl winces to the point of tears at the provoking of his herniated disc. She stares at his pain-ridden grimace.

"You may be a pig and a creep," Jade paused for effect. "But you're not stupid. If you knew anything you would have told me."

Carl glances at the chaos in his apartment. "Glad you saw my side before you overreacted."

_Still a goddamn jester to the last. _

Jade pulls him in closer by his shirt, agitating the bad back even more. "Listen well, Carl. If you hear anything, find me. You don't…"

She drops him and picks up the heavy couch, hurling it like a Frisbee. Carl watches as the piece of furniture _becomes_ pieces.

"And for whoever tried to kill me, let them know that they should have done a better job. Because now I'm something much…worse."

Jade vanishes from sight.

* * *

"Hey, Mills!" A blonde chubby man came jogging up to the Captain.

"Mac, what's going on?"

"I got that DNA match for you from the subway. We actually pulled up a juvee record. A Miss Jadelyn West."

"Okay."

"Did I mention that her father happen to be Bernardo Grimaldi's most notorious cleaner, Gregory West?"

"Well, that certainly made things even more interesting."

"So what now?"

Mills takes out his phone. "Sounds to me like cause for a search"

Mac hands him a piece of paper. "Last known address."

"I'll call the D.A."

* * *

Carl waited on the broken table for twenty minutes before being convinced that the coast was clear. He dug out his phone from his front pocket and dialed.

The other line rung about 6 times before somebody answered.

"What do want, Carl?" the man with the Sicilian accent asked.

"Boss…we've got a problem here,"

"What, I'm not in the mood."

"West…youngest daughter is dead."

"And what of Jade?"

"She…"

"Out with it!"

Carl swallows hard. "It's happened. Somehow she got exposed…"

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Trust me, I've seen it. Definitely has the signs and there was that story from the subway."

"Jesus Christ, Carl! You were supposed to watch them!"

"I know but…"

"NO! NO! You have any idea of what kind of shit storm this is going to create?"

"I'm sorry, boss."

"Fuck you and your sorrys. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to break some news to someone I hope doesn't break me."

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"What is it now?"

"Could you, um, send a couple of guys to get me. I can't move."

That's where Bernardo decides to end the conversation.

* * *

Police staggered out of the apartment of Jade West.

"It was like a battlefield in there," one described.

The sight of the badly mutilated younger sister Mira West turned many seasoned veterans white. One guy threw up in the hallway.

Captain Mills furrows his brow at the mayhem. He has seen carnage in his years on the force but a scene like this always managed to upset him. Especially when the victim is rather young. He picks up his radio.

"All patrol units listen up. We are searching for one Jadelyn West. She's 5'7'' with dark hair and blue-green eyes." Mills takes a second to check his notes. "About 24 years old. Please consider her extremely dangerous. We advise that all units should enquire at the nearest hospitals and morgues, in case someone already has found our perp."

* * *

Robert Shapiro grabbed the radio from the dashboard. Det. Cook, who was driving, looked at Shapiro with contempt. He always hated that squawk box.

"This is G-26. We are on Jasper Street right now. I see Schneider Memorial up ahead. Going to inquirer."

"Very good, G-26. Let us know of anything significant to forward to Mills."

"Roger."

"Rob," Cook flicked his tongue. "You really think we might find this West person?"

"Can't hurt to ask."

"You think she's dead?"

"Not sure."

Cook smirks. "Well, I think so."


	6. Chapter 6

Det. Cook walked with Officer Shapiro through the hospital lobby. Even though he was a rookie and sometimes got a little annoying, the kid kind of grew on him. And word around the firing range that he's a hell of a shot.

"Excuse me," Shapiro asks the petite redhead behind the desk. She looks up a him and he was simply taken aback by her face.

"Can I help you boys?"

"Yes, um, we were looking for a Jade West. Has anyone checked in under that name?"

The lovely girl in the white coat thought about it and checked a yellow chart on the desk nearby. "Nnnnnope. Nobody by that name."

"Well, then anybody fitting the description of an average height brunette with blue-green eyes?" Cook suggests.

She shakes her head, smiling sympathetically.

Shapiro steps in front of the senior cop and hands the woman a card. "If you find out anything please contact us."

"Is this girl in trouble?"

"Quite," Cook quips.

"There's an APB," Shapiro adds. "If you do see her, please be careful. She may be dangerous."

The fiery-haired girl strokes her hair flirtatiously. "I will. Thank you."

As the pair began walking away, they heard a high-toned voice shout out "Be safe!"

They turn around and see the young woman covering her mouth embarrassed.

Back in the car, Cook looks over at the passenger side and sees Shapiro leaning his head against the window, palming his forehead.

"Hey, Shapiro."

"Yeah."

"You liked her, didn't you?"

"Shut up and drive."

"She was kinda cute, huh?"

"Shut…up."

* * *

Bernardo Grimaldi opened a tall door cautiously.

"Lyriz? Are you there?"

A deep voice came bellowing from…somewhere. "Come in, Bernardo."

The mob boss obliges. On any given day, it would be him that nervous people would be preparing to be in audience with. He hated being on the receiving end of a dressing down.

The voice came back "Sit."

Grimaldi began, "I came to tell you about…"

"I know why you're here." A shit brick house of a man in a fine suit enters Grimaldi's sight. "You think I don't know what's going on in my city?"

Those words made him sick. _His city? Like hell._ But Grimaldi swallowed his pride. "I just figured that you'd want to hear it from me."

The large man, apparently named Lyriz, puts up his hand in a _stop_ motion. "I'm not interested in your apologies."

"Now see here," Grimaldi now standing erect. "I don't apologize. I don't even accept them. And I give the orders…"

"You can stop right there," Lyriz' tone grew more dire. "We had a bargain, did we not?"

Grimaldi nods.

"We give you guys protection _and_ snuff out undesirables. And let me say that my guys are neater and more efficient than some nut or hitman."

He nods again.

"There was just one small caveat. You had to make sure that the spawn of West did not succumb. My men protected your men but your guys couldn't supervise a couple girls."

Before Grimaldi could realize what happened, he is picked up off the ground by his head.

"I am a firm believer that when the system is broken, a change in management makes a world of difference. Isn't that right Andre?"

A dark-skinned vampire appears. He stands there, arms folded.

"Mr. Grimaldi, you know what I intend to do about the little problem you caused?"

The silent vampire in the corner winced as Lyriz squeezed the kingpin's head until his hands touched one another. The limp, headless body lands with a thud.

"Now I'm going to need somebody to be my eyes and ears for the business side. As you can see, one cannot trust these vile humans. Would you do it?"

"I would be honored, Lyriz."

"Thanks, Andre. You're a good guy. Find this girl quickly. Use caution. Remember, she's a fresh one. She'll be stronger and more unpredictable."

"No prob." Andre says confidently when he turns to exit.

Lyriz looks over the recently deceased Bernardo Grimaldi and proceeds to a desk with an intercom. He holds down the button.

"Bea, send somebody up here to clean this up."

* * *

Jade was frustrated. She wasn't finding any hits and talk of a fugitive with her name and description has made her scarce. Whenever there were flashing red and blue light, Jade would jump into something to keep her hidden.

She overheard one of the news outlets suggesting that she was on drugs. That made her think for a minute. The meth lab downtown. The mob owned it and they sometimes utilized junkies for various shit assignments. Could one of them figured out where she lived? The condition of the murder scene screamed that it was committed by someone not in their right mind.

It took some time but she finally found the location of the abandoned textile factory where they made the drugs. Jade walked up to the doorman that sat with a shotgun.

"Hey, little lady. What can I do for ya."

"You can let me in."

The guard chuckles. "No can do."

Next thing he knew he came to with a pounding headache in a dumpster across the street.

Jade marches down the hallway with purpose, holding the shotgun _given_ by the guy at the door. She sees a woman standing, staring at the wall lost. Jade whacks her in the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. She then came across two guys much larger than the guard. Once they hit the ground, Jade walked away and broke the shotgun into pieces. She was getting tired of holding it.

Pushing open a green door, Jade uncovers the massive room where all the chemistry happens. Dozens of workers, some junkies and some illegals, all making the deadly methamphetamines. One thing that struck her was a little girl, about 8 or 9, with brown hair sitting in a chair away from the test tubes and conveyor belts. What was she doing there?

Jade moves in closer, secretly.

When a strung-out woman staggers into the lab, the little girl tugs at her clothes.

"Mom, I want to go home."

"We will, baby. Mommy just needs to get some more medicine."

Jade couldn't help but picture her sister. Another innocent kid thrusted into this corrupted world where she would never have a normal childhood. And if things go really wrong, she'll never grow up.

"FREEZE!"

Jade was caught off guard by the shout ringing across the warehouse. All the assembly line workers looked up and scattered. Dozens of blue men rushed the lab, guns raised.

"DON'T MOVE. IF YOU RESIST, WE WILL OPEN FIRE!"

It was coming from some kind of speaker outside. Just her luck, she broke into this place just when a sting was underway. One of the junkies grabs the girl and holds a gun to her head.

"Don't mmmmoove. You move, she dies." The cops stand down as the kidnapper makes his escape. The mother was so hopped up on drugs that she just fled when she heard the police arriving, leaving her daughter behind.

The meth head made it to the roof and is immediately blinded by the spotlight from the helicopter hovering overhead. He starts firing wildly into the air, frightening the child. After emptying his gun of bullets, he throws down the weapon and looks behind him to see Jade. He lets the girl go, allowing her to slide down the roof's slope, leading toward the edge. Meanwhile, the junkie makes a run for it and tries to leap to the next building but misses.

Jade runs frantically for the girl who is screaming. She falls over the side and Jade leaps into the air to intercept her. She gets a grip on the kid but sense the neighboring building and holds the girl close to her chest, bracing for the impact.

With a loud crash through broken glass, the two end up in the other building. Jade ends up on her back, still with a firm grip on the girl. She lays flat, feeling the dozens and dozens of shards in her flesh.

"You can open your eyes now," Jade rubbing the girl's head to comfort her.

She slowly opens her eyes and looks at her rescuer.

"Are you hurt? Anything broken? Glass hit you?" Jade asked concerned.

The girl shakes her head.

* * *

Jade carries the girl down the dilapidated stairs in case they decided to give way. Once on the ground floor, the two exit to the melee of sirens, flashing lights and random shouting.

Jade places the girl carefully on her feet and kneels in front of her.

"Where's my mom?" she asks.

Jade looks past her and can see from far away the junkie mother being placed into the back of a squad car.

"Your mom is…not feeling well. But see that man over there?"

The girl looks over at a tall, muscular officer.

"That man is a policeman. He will help you. He'll take you someplace safe."

Without saying a word the grateful child hugs the vampire tightly. Jade usually couldn't stand such gestures of affection but she's just a kid. Admittedly, that moment she hugged her almost made her tear up but she would never admit it to anyone. Least of all to herself. The girl then walks away, takes one look back smiles before continuing out of sight.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry about this chapter being short. I'm very tired and need to catch up on my sleep. For everyone clamoring for Jori, don't despair. It will come in time. Introductions are everything and I have the perfect buildup. A lot of your guesses for where she figured into the story were amusingly creative but no one has nailed it yet. Stay tuned.**

* * *

Jade was feeling weak. She was on foot from the crime scene because she lacked the strength to do anything else. She felt her body give up and collapse against a brick wall. It felt like she felt when she was near death.

A drowning sensation overcame her just like before. Her vision started to blur just like before.

But something different happened this time.

"Hello, Jade" the deep voice reverberates around her.

_Who the fuck are you?_

"Welcome"

_Where the fuck am I?_

Jade came to lying on a metal slab like an operating table. She was strapped down with metal bands. She struggled but they were solid steel. A large man with chiseled features stares down at her. He looked like a statue and was probably just as big. Another person would think of him as handsome. Jade was just irritated.

"What's going on? Who are you?"

The big man smiles a shit-eating grin. "Lyriz. No need to introduce yourself. We all know who _you_ are."

_We?_

Jade turned her head to the side and saw a mass of people looking at her with jubilation oozing from their eyes.

"This," Lyriz said. "Is my family."

_Oh shit._

The sheer number of people didn't make Jade uneasy as much as their stark silence. She figured out what was going on. They were waiting for orders.

"What do you people want?"

"Have you ever wondered about your current state? Why do vampires even exist?"

Jade just stares at him, watering the garden of her anger.

"See, we are stronger, faster and less vulnerable than humans. Why? It's because we are evolving as a species. The world likes to think that our kind are abominations but we've only evolved to the next level. Nature of course tries to rebel against any species that has the danger of becoming masters of the world. Since nature thrives on the sun's light, heat and energy it tries to get rid of us by making the sun deadly to us. Just a desperate attempt to control our population."

Lyriz begins walking around the metal table, Jade just staring at the ceiling in contempt.

"But we're resilient. We have endured and despite being ushered into the shadows, our numbers have grown. My clan here has exceeded two hundred. Others wander this world as lost souls but we have it all figured out. The hunger, the uncontrollable desire to eat humans, has a broader purpose. It is symbolic. Like Christ offering his body and blood to his followers to establish a new church. Fate is telling us that we are the new ideal and to prove it we must literally consume the old society: humans."

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT WITH ME?!" Jade's screams echoed throughout the room.

"Calm down. You'll need whatever strength you can hold on to. See our research has followed the lineage of the original vampire and it leads all the way up to you. You, Jade, are a direct descendant of the strain to begin all strains."

Lyriz places his hand on Jade's shoulder.

"I had a vision years ago warning us that if the last of the original bloodline were to be turned, it would spell doom for our mission. So our plan was to have our friends in organized crime protect you from harm to avoid such a scenario."

"Didn't work, asshole."

Lyriz cocked his head in agreement. "Yeah."

"Still doesn't explain just what the hell you want with me…"

Jade focuses on Lyriz when he approaches a control panel and touches a red button. She suddenly feels a painful stabbing to her abdomen. The red, red blood flows from her through hoses into clear containers.

"This is such a great invention, is it not? It keeps you alive by pumping blood into your system and it is rigged on a timer so that before you get a fraction of your strength back, it drains you critically. And then it starts all over again."

"Why?" Jade was beyond furious with being tied down and all the mysterious talk.

"We originally figured you a great risk to our kind. But a happy accident occurred. We analyzed a sample of your blood from our connections to the police. It was…unusual. So we tried some experiments and found that even though you don't feel any different than the rest of us, your body strengthens whatever blood was in your veins."

He leans in closer to his prisoner.

"You're like a filter only in reverse. You somehow make blood more potent. It revitalizes the weak faster, it lasts longer." He frowns at Jade's blank expression. "I thought you would be proud to know how much you would be helping the cause."

"Fuck you and your cause." Jade grinding her teeth. "Now let me go before I rip each and every one of you apart."

"No."

Lyriz moves around the table and prepares to leave.

"You're going to be here for a very long time, Jade West. A long time. Pity. Had we known sooner, we probably would have spared your sister."

Images of Mira and how horrible she looked when Jade discovered her flooded her mind. A single tear formed and ran its course down her cheek.

"You know, even while your sister was drowning in her own blood," Lyriz sneered "She was still crying for you."

Jade rises as far as her shackles will allow. Her captors gets concerned when one of the arm restraints looked like it was getting loose. One of them immediately pushed the red button and Jade slips out of consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

It was like being in a coma but remaining alternatively aware. That first attempt was her only chance, when the device was still manual. Now there is no escape. When Jade feels the slightest spark to be able to move again, the machine buzzes and stabs her once again.

Vision blurs and she slips away.

Every day.

Every day she nearly dies.

Unbeknownst to her was the passage of time. There was no clock, calendar or any other indicators of _when_ it was. All Jade knew was fully awake paralyses, pain and sleep. Everything got bright and then it got dark again.

At this point she would settle for Lyriz or one of his sheep to talk to. _Can the undead lose their mind? Duh, just look at your captors._

One time she tried to count the seconds to herself the moment she woke up but she lost track well before the device activated again. She has also attempted to keep track of the days but again, Jade lost count somewhere in the double digits. Hell, that's only assuming she is stuck once a day. For all she knew it probably ran every few hours.

This was absolute agony. Jade was trapped and her only companion were her thoughts. And lately, hatred and self-loathing haven't been the best of company. She just shut her eyes, waiting for the machine to knock her out again.

Waiting for death.

Or a miracle.

Jade had some happy thoughts to entertain her mind. She explored her memories quite extensively. Her mind was probably starved for stimulation to produce nightmares and dreamscapes. So it must dig into the archives instead for stories.

* * *

It was late one Halloween. Mira always felt sad that in the city they couldn't trick or treat like a lot of other kids do. But she did enjoy herself because Jade made sure it was fun. Their favorite thing was making popcorn and watching scary movies on TV.

_Night of the Living Dead _was more than halfway through and Mira was hiding behind her big sister. Jade was actually enjoying it even if was quaint at times with the obvious music cues and stiff, lumbering zombies.

Mira lost it when it got to the gut eating. The movie was black and white so it wasn't graphic but the squishing and chewing sounds made it absolutely gruesome. She gripped tightly on Jade's arm but still unable to completely look away.

Jade looked behind at her sister and smiled. "Too much for ya?"

"Nnnnno!" she stammered. "It's not."

"Don't worry kiddo," Jade squeezing her arm back. "I won't let the monsters get you."

"I won't let them…"


	9. Chapter 9

"You're out of your mind, Shapiro" Cook chomping down on a drag. It was close to the filter.

"Why?" the young detective queried.

"Turning down that Sergeant spot. Bad move. Come on, kid. You've got potential. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw you wearing Captain's bars one day."

"That's nice of you to say but…"

"It ain't fuckin' _nice_; it's the truth. Only reason I've never tried is the paperwork scares the shit out of me."

"That's just my point. The higher I go, the less I do. Somehow being a desk jockey is not exciting for me."

"It's admirable but stupid. Look, your street smarts may have been meh in the beginning but you've grown. You're one hell of a cop and it's been a good ride."

Rob looks at his partner. "That kind of talk usually means you're retiring."

Cook remains silent.

"You can't be serious. You're not even that old."

"Well, I feel it. I mean I can't do this no more. The wife and I were hoping to move out of the city. Settle back in my hometown and open up a shop there."

"Sounds corny," Rob quipped.

"I oughta slap you on the head for that if you weren't such a good shot." Cook thinks for a second. "Aw, fuck it." He whacks the back of his partner's head. Rob chuckles.

SSSSCCCCCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECC CCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHH

A white Honda speeds past the two.

"Here we go, kid" Cook said.

"I'm 28!"

The squad car joins the 80 plus mph club and attempt to catch up to the speeder. Rob pull out his radio.

"This is G-26 in pursuit of a white Honda, license plate Tango Xavier Peter 7 5 4, local plates." He listens. "What? Oh, are going southwest approaching Kino Ave." Rob then taps Cook's shoulder. "Watch this."

The car continues to zip through the streets, the perp still in their sights.

"See what?"

"How we're practically getting every green light. Gotta love this new technology. The traffic lights in the hypothetical route go into emergency mode. They stop opposing traffic and allow our direction to keep going."

"Sweet. Kinda takes the excitement out of the whole chase though. Exactly how accurate is this measure, tech weenie?"

Rob brushes off the jab. "About 95%. Statistically, most chases lead to the highway ramps."

"Well, I'm about to torpedo your statistics. Cuz this guy's just turned."

The black and white follows and comes across a dead end. They stop the car and get out. They fan out.

"He's gotta be in one of these warehouses," Cook shouts

Rob extends his left arm with the flashlight and holds his gun in the right at the ready. He suddenly hears an engine revving and bright lights flashing in his face. The white Honda speeds furiously down the way toward Rob. He shoots and the driver shoots back. The scumbag nails one in his chest and Rob goes down, luckily out of the way of the vehicle.

Cook then jumps out from behind a dumpster and plants a lead flower in the driver's skull. He jumps out of the way of the now unmanned car as it careens through a fence and plows into a power station. As far as he could see was instantly bathed in darkness. Cook uses his flashlight to locate his partner.

"Shapiro! Shapiro!" He kneels down and turns him over to examine the wound. "Rob? You there? Listen to me. Everything's fine."

"It's dark."

"I know. It's just a blackout."

"We get him?"

"Yeah, kid, we got him."

Cook takes out his cell. "Dispatch, this is G-26. We have a power outage about half a mile off of Kino. Perp crashed into power station. Send back up now. Officer down. I don't have time to wait. I have to take Shapiro to the ER…I don't give a shit, just get down here!"

Cook drags his partner to the car and lays him in the backseat.

Driving toward the hospital, he periodically look back at Rob.

"You're gonna be okay, kid. Just stay with me."

* * *

Jade wakes up and is bemused by how dark the room was. She looks down and notices that her restraints were opened. She gather up all the strength she had to left herself out of those shackles and roll onto the floor.

She landed with a thud but it was more of a shock to her system that she was on her stomach for the first time in like forever. Jade felt the pain to her side was slowly subsiding. She felt better as the minutes ticked by. But she had to stay hidden.

_Where do they store that blood?_

Jade crawls on her belly like a snake and after some false alarms at desks and carts, she comes across a tall locker. She reaches out for the handle and pulls herself to he feet. Opening the door, her eyes lit up with the massive jars of blood staring at her; shelves and shelves of the stuff like some macabre preserves.

For the first time in a very long time, she smiled.

A loud banging in heard at the door. It opens and a flashlight beam cuts through the darkness. Suddenly, there was a deafening humming noise from the bowels of the underground structure. A generator is kicking on.

The lights finally come up again and the operating table was empty. The searcher looks up and sees the raven-haired vampire perched on the gantries like a vulture, staring back at him. She gives a "be quiet" gesture with her finger before descending upon him.


	10. Chapter 10

The vampires convene in the main foyer, all talking at once.

"Silence!" Lyriz emerges from the crowd and they part to give him more space to address them all. "The power has been restored and the blood supply is intact."

"But what about the outside?"

"Yeah, how far does the blackout go?"

Lyriz holds up his hands. "We are assessing that right now. Believe me, it is unlikely that the mission is threatened. Those places tend to have their own generators, too."

A scream is heard from the back of the room. The crowd parts and a fire is seen enveloping the wall, swiftly extending toward the vampires. At that exact moment Jade walks in with eyes just as hot as her surroundings.

"What have you done?" Lyriz shouted.

"I haven't even started," Jade coldly retorted.

The vamps run from the inferno. Jade outruns the flames and begins chasing down targets in her wake. They were panicking from the fire and Jade recently fed…a lot. So she has a great advantage.

But these ones were insignificant. Less than nothing. She would snap their bones like toothpicks, leaving the broken behind for the fire. They were in Jade's way, standing between her and the real prize. But their leader was at the forefront of the retreat.

* * *

"Hey!" Cook wad dragging his partner whose chest was red into the lobby of Schneider Memorial. An orderly runs up with a gurney and helps Cook lift him onto it. They begin rushing down the hall.

Cook holds Rob's bloody hand. "What's going on?" asks the wounded cop.

"You're in a hospital. It's going to be alright, hear me?"

Rob gives a half nod. "Okay," he breathes through his parted mouth.

"Rob, don't talk. Just focus on staying awake."

* * *

A young, sandy-haired vampire flees from the pack and escapes the mansion. He runs into the alley and comes across a dead end. Standing there is a man with long, dark hair. He is dressed in black with a matching duffle on his back.

For a second, the deserter forgot everything and fixated on the sweet smell coming off the human standing in front of him. He approaches eagerly, sensing the fresh blood coursing through his veins. The vampire is actually taken aback when the long-haired stranger pulls a gun on him.

"You can't be serious," the vampire smirks.

The man gives him a scrunched face "Really? Can't get more serious than a gun pointed at your fuckin' face."

"You think that can stop me?"

"You think you bloodsuckers scare me?"

That wasn't the answer he expected. But he shrugged off the overconfident flesh feast.

"Well, I'm not allergic to lead, pretty boy."

The gunman raises an eyebrow "Who said anything about lead?"

A deafening shot rings out and the vampire rapidly decomposes on his feet. He begins to falter but he has already vanished into a cloud of bloody embers before he could hit the ground.

The human steps over the pile of ashes and walks to the alley's end, looking in the direction of where the vampire ran from. He eyes the mansion engulfed in flames.

"So, that's where you came from."

He puts away his gun, digs through his bag and pulls out an odd-looking rifle.

"And God would unleash a purging fire to destroy evil."

* * *

Jade converges on the scrambling vampires fleeing the building. She brushes past them, looking for Lyriz.

She finally has him in her sights.

Jade knocks him off his feet. His face shows surprise at her strength.

"YOU DIE!"

"It make no difference now, sweetheart."

"SHUT UP!"

She pins the six-foot vampire and tears into his throat with her teeth and spits out the chunk she bites off. His face is awash with panic; the blood poured out of his gaping hole like a fountain. Jade relished the fear in his eyes as she held down his arms to try to stop the bleeding.

Jade then feels cold metal on the back of her head.

"Steady, girl. Don't move an inch."

She peers through her peripheral vision and sees a tall man with long black hair brandishing the object in question. Jade turns around in a fraction of a second and smacks the weapon out of his hands and sends him down on the ground. Hard. She then straddles her prey.

She had just tasted blood but she would make room for this nuisance.

"Okay, asshole. Let's see _you_ move."

* * *

The bright fluorescents made Rob take his time opening his eyes. He turns his head and immediately notices an IV and a heart monitor. He looks the other way and the machine could be heart bleeping faster.

She was beautiful. Long fiery red hair tied up behind her head. Full lips accentuated with pink lipstick. Her eyes emitted a warmth.

"Oh, you're awake." she smiled.

Rob felt his stomach sink and he choked on his words. "I…I…was shot…"

The woman in the white coat touched his arm, making gooseflesh appear. "Lay still. You just got out of surgery."

"You got it out?"

"Did it myself, so I know for sure."

Rob's eyes widen. "You?"

Her smile straightened. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"I'm sorry, I just…I feel like I know you."

"I thought so, too. Then I saw the name on your chart."

Rob closed his eyes and he flashed back to the lovely red-headed girl behind the counter. He knew she looked familiar.

"You were at the reception. I remember."

The woman smiles. "Yeah, I still do that. Sometimes the admissions are just insane so I help the people in triage on nights when things are slow in the OR."

"I feel bad. I didn't mean to offend you."

"No, really. It's okay." She looks at her watch. "Look, I need to continue my rounds. Or, rather, my friend's rounds. She's sick."

Rob couldn't believe how many hats this vision wears. Was she Chief of Medicine, too?

"Thank you…for everything."

"It's my pleasure, believe me. Now, you take it easy and I'll see you later. I'll send a nurse to bring you up something to eat. You must be starving."

"My…my partner…"

She holds up her hand. "I'll get him. I passed him in the waiting room. He was asleep."

Rob felt bad that Cook stayed the whole night.

"Thanks again, doc. Um, doctor…"

"Valentine. Dr. Valentine."

The woman walks away, leaving the open door behind her. Rob looks up at the ceiling. Normally hospitals and doctors made him very uncomfortable ever since his asthma as a kid. But something was different about his resident doctor. She made him feel safe.

She made him feel that everything would be okay.


	11. Chapter 11

"Talk!"

Jade had her arm in a stranglehold on the guy who dared to pull some kind of gun on her. She had little patience for such things.

"Who are you?"

"My name is…Beck."

She scrunches up her face. "_Beck_? What kind of name is that?"

A car screeches furiously toward them, Jade shielding her eyes from the bright headlights. It stops just shy of the pair. The vampire from Lyriz's office emerges from the driver's side door.

"Let's go," he tells Jade.

"Okay, _another_ total stranger giving me orders. What are you two _trying_ to get on my shit list?"

"Damn it, woman! We don't have much time!"

"Well, don't you know how to talk to a lady," Jade grins. It's the most amusing thing this night had to offer.

"What…time?" Beck struggles through his choking.

"Name's Andre. I used to work for Lyriz."

Jade blinked. "Used to?"

"Long story; look, we need to go now!"

"Why?"

"Because if we're too late, the city is in terrible danger."

Jade just shoots him a look. Beck, on the ground, looks back and forth between the two flesh eaters that have him between a rock and a hard place.

"Alright," Andre says annoyed. "I'll give you a practical reason." He checks his phone. "It's going to be dawn in about an hour."

Jade stares back at him with an even expression. A look of total disregard but he could tell the wheels in her head were turning from what he just said. Andre opens the backseat door.

Jade rises, grabbing Beck by the collar. "You're coming with me, Becky!" She throws him into the backseat, opens the passenger side door for herself and gets in.

The luxury sedan speeds off to avoid the ensuing dawn.

* * *

"Captain Vega?"

Cook was surprised to wake up at the sight of his superior, David Vega. Mills left some time ago.

"What are doing here?" asked Cook.

"My youngest was visiting a friend who had their appendix removed. She needed a lift."

"Oh, little Teri still can't drive, Captain?" Cook was trying to manage a half sympathetic tone but accidentally came off 100% sarcastic.

Vega smiled. "_Tori_. And…no, she failed her last driving test."

"My god, she must be in college right?"

"This year. Graduated this June."

"Wow. Don't you love how time moves so fast?"

"The worst thing about getting older. What are you doing here?"

"Shapiro got shot."

"Oh yeah, I heard about you two chasing down that car…and causing the blackout."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault. I shot the bastard. Didn't realize where a dead man was going to drive next."

The captain laughs heartedly at this. Cook and Shapiro were two of his favorite detectives on his team.

"He's okay, right?"

"Yeah, his doctor just woke me up actually. He has been out of surgery and is awake now. Luckily the bullet missed his heart and lungs."

Vega nods "Yes. Those internal bleeding cases are the worst. They can never do anything after that."

Cook stands up and straightens the street clothes he slept in.

"You gonna see him, Cap?"

"Oh, sure. Tori's still in her friend's room."

"Oh shit!" Cook scrambles for his phone and dials. "You go ahead, sir. I forgot to call my wife. She's probably wondering where the fuck I am!"

* * *

"Where the fuck are we going?" Jade pressed the driver.

"A hospital," Andre replies.

"What for?"

"Alright, Lyriz has begun to suspect me of pulling away from his philosophy." Andre looks at Jade. "So, he's more or less been keeping me in the dark for the last few years. I assume he only kept me around was because of my intimate knowledge of the city. He isn't from here."

Jade covers her eyes with her hand. "The point? The point?"

Andre rolls his eyes. "The point is that he was disappointed with how things were progressing with the whole 'revolution'," he makes a quote mark with one hand with that last word. "So, he thought he could accelerate things."

"How?" The silent Beck in the back was no longer so silent. Jade shot him an annoyed glance.

"What is faster than having hundreds of vampires feed? Or, put it this way: If the goal was to tip the planet's population scale in the vampires' favor, then why not just make as many as possible?"

"In other words," Jade begins. "Why eat the old order when you can easily convert them to the new."

Beck's tone got dead serious. "He's planning to infect the whole city. How?"

"By tainting the blood supply at the largest hospitals in town. I have spent months acquiring allies; more vampires deserting from Lyriz and his clan. I have them situated at all the major targets. All but one. And that's the one we are heading to right now,"

"Why hasn't he tried to do this sooner?" Jade asks.

"Because to keep hundreds of your followers alive while stockpiling thousands of gallons of blood would take a lot of time." Andre looks at Jade. "Even with your special blend."

Jade snorted at yet another coffee metaphor used to describe her.

"You were meant to be kept docile for at least a century. He wanted to try and obtain enough for the civilized world. Remember, it takes only a few drops per person."

Beck's head is spinning from this revelation but the two vampires up front barely notice.

"Unfortunately, for Lyriz, you escaped after only nine years."

"WHAT?"

Andre almost stopped the car when she yelled but remembered to keep going. A reflex from his old dating days.

Jade's face tightened with rage. "I have been kept down in that lab for NINE YEARS?"

Andre nods, wincing at the anticipation of a punch being landed on the messenger. It didn't come.

"I don't believe this," Jade folds her arms. "This shit isn't happening."

"Well, believe it or not," Andre continues. "Your breakout made Lyriz panic more than you even know."

Jade had to smile a little at the prospect of causing so much fear in her would-be captor.

"So it forced his plan of acceleration _into_ acceleration," Beck seemed to be catching on.

She immediately turned to the backseat. "Now, you. Just who the hell are you really and who the hell do you _think_ you are?"

Beck understood the line of questioning here. "My full name is Beck Oliver. I track and kill vampires. I protect humans from..."

"Oh, yee-hoo, the boy has a career!" Jade snatching Beck's duffle and starts rummaging.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Andre asking out of general principle.

An audible hiss is heard in the car. "FUCK!" Jade calls out, dropping something onto the floor. She puts her hand inside her sleeve to pick up the small object as if it were extremely hot. She studies the shiny find.

"That's silver," Andre morbidly informs. "Like sunlight, it's hostile to the touch"

"Yeah, no shit!" Jade quips.

Andre looks at his back passenger with his rearview mirror. "Tell me how you can afford silver bullets?"

"Let's just say that my employers have access to the necessary funds."

"Let me guess," Jade dropping the bullet back into the bag. "These employers of yours live and operate tax-free?"

Beck reluctantly nods.

"And people wonder why I stopped going to church."

* * *

**A/N: NEXT CHAPTER...drum roll please...Tori!**


	12. Chapter 12

Tyler had been eyeing Andre's seemingly abandoned position as Lyriz's right hand man for years. Lyriz confessed to him that he had his doubts, so Tyler saw the opportunity. He didn't care that this Jade person escaped because he was going to make sure that nothing on earth was going to spoil Lyriz's plan.

_It was the vampires' turn to rise as the rulers of the world that they deserved to be. We are superior to humans in every way; why else would they be held in the lowest regard: food. _

Tyler pulls into the underground parking of Schneider Memorial. He backs in toward the direction of the elevators. Opening the back of the SUV, he regards the silver briefcases with a grin.

_Won't be long now. _

He picks up the precious cargo and proceeds into the freight elevator marked: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.

The doors open at the third floor: Hematology. Tyler follows the length of the wing until coming across a locked room: SPECIMENS. He tries the knob in vain and checks to see of the coast is clear before kicking the wooden door in.

Tyler finds a metal table and lays the cases and opens them. A puff of icy fog escapes from the inside. He reaches inside and pulls out bags and bags of blood.

Looking around, Tyler locates the cold chest where the plasma is stored. He opens the top door and backs away.

"Hi there," Andre says emerging from the chest.

Tyler's demeanor hardens. "Bastard. I never thought you would have the balls to go ahead and betray Lyriz."

"I don't know. It seems pretty easy to turn one's back on a psycho."

"Psycho?" Tyler squints his eyes.

Andre steps closer to his former comrade. "Yeah, so what?"

Tyler smiles. "I'll bet that he would love to have the head of the disciple that went rogue."

"Jade killed him," Andre smiling back.

Tyler stands there dumbstruck for a moment before attacking.

* * *

Beck rushes to the reception. "Excuse me, this is an emergency."

The head nurse points with her pen, "Okay just have a seat right over there…"

"It's not like that! We need to put this building on lockdown, right now!"

A security guard approaches Beck from behind, "What's going on here?"

Beck whips around and stares the guard in the eye. "It's urgent. There's no time to explain."

"Okay, mouthpiece, why don't we leave these hardworking people and their sick patients alone and let's go for a ride?"

Grabbing the man's collar, Beck forces the guard against the wall. "Listen to me! Somebody is spreading a contagious…"

The click of a gun stops Beck's words. Captain Vega points his standard issue right at him.

"Raise them high, son. Slowly."

Beck lets go of the guard and puts up his hands.

* * *

The small room is a warzone. Andre and Tyler rumble around, shattering glass and breaking furniture and cabinetry in their struggle.

"You got some nerve coming in here all by yourself," Tyler grimaced.

"Who said that I came alone?" Andre retorted.

* * *

Beck places his hands on his head and kneels down per the officer's request. He approaches the young man causing the disturbance, gun still aimed for a kill shot just in case.

"Now, tell me" Vega began. "What is the reason for trying to cause a panic?"

"Yes, there is. There is something…someone who has threatened to infect this hospital."

"And how is that?"

"The blood supply."

"What did this man have? A virus?"

Beck looks up from the floor. "You could say that."

* * *

Andre pins down Tyler. "You really think I would risk everything by not having backup?"

"Likewise," Tyler chuckles.

* * *

The entire building goes dark. Emergency lights kick on in the hallways.

Tori Vega stumbles in the corridor outside her friend Max's room.

"What the hell is going on?" she asks out loud.

She feels her way around, looking for her father.

* * *

David Vega handcuffs Beck to a chair bolted to the floor.

"I don't know where you came from, guy. But you're making me nervous. Now stay right there."

Beck rolls his eyes. "I'm just trying to warn you!"

"And I'm trying to tell you to sit still and be quiet."

He walks away and takes out a Maglite to see. Many of the people have moved to outside where dawn has broken. He moves down a more poorly-lit area.

"Anybody over here?" A slight metallic jingle is heard from where he just came from.

Vega turns around and feels a whack on his head which sends him to the ground hard. Beck stands over him, picking the cuff on the hand he used to knock him out.

"Sorry, officer. But you're way out of your depth."

* * *

Tori feels around for a door that isn't locked and almost falls into one. The morgue. Fear consumed her whole body so she deftly locked the door. She had a real bad feeling about the dark ever since she was a little girl. It normally didn't affect her nowadays but a blackout in a strange place is not allowing her to stay mentally calm.

A hand appears behind the wavy glass panel on the door and smacks it. Tori backs away and looks for a place to hide. She settles on the storage shelf of an examination table. There was a stack of new body blankets nearby. Tori grabs one and covers herself with it.

The window smashes into bits and the door is heard opening. Tori covers her mouth to not make a sound.

_Please don't let me die here_.


	13. Chapter 13

Andre steps back, falling to his knees. He grips the broken chair leg protruding from his chest. Tyler rises in triumph, snickering. He kicks Andre until he is completely on the floor.

"And all traitors and snitches die."

"You first," a female voice matter-of-factly stated.

Before Tyler could completely assess who was behind him, Jade chops off the vampire's head with a long saw. The now headless body collapses onto the linoleum.

Jade drags the wounded Andre into the hallway. She leans him against the wall and studies the damage.

"It didn't…" Andre winced. "Go in all the way. One more hit and it would impale my heart."

"So what do I do?" Jade looking impatiently concerned.

"What do you think, pull it out!"

His sudden sarcasm intrigued Jade. She shrugs and gets a good grip on the chair leg. She yanks and easily removes the foreign object. Andre lifts up his shirt to see the entry wound in greater relief. Jade watches in fascination as the surface of the beating heart repairs itself and the chest cavity closes up, right down to the skin healing.

Jade helps Andre back up. They exchange an awkward silence.

"What?" Andre finally asked.

"How the hell did you do that?"

"As long as the heart still beats, you're still alive. I just had to concentrate on healing; save all my strength." He suddenly goes limp and Jade catches him in her arms.

"I think you got a ways to go yet."

She carries him back into the room and lays him on the table beside the open cases.

"There you go. Help yourself to some contraband. Should do the trick. I hear it's a _special blend_."

Andre closes his eyes at the reference to earlier.

"Now, drink up. And don't come back until you make yourself useful."

* * *

Dr. Caterina Valentine was visiting a recovering boy in pediatrics who had his tonsils removed the day before. She supervised the procedure and the parents were appreciative of her bedside manner.

It was after checking on her young patient when the lights went out and she got a text that the hospital was possibly under siege with apparently a biological weapon. She looked over at the scared children, fighting back tears thinking about the unseen thing that could hurt them. She takes a deep breath and swallows her fears. The good doctor had to be strong for all of them.

"Okay, kids" she said locking the door and running to the patients' beds. "Everything's going to be alright. Just a power outage."

She sits down at the foot of one of the beds, scanning the room so that she can maintain eye contact with all of them and at the same time keeping a mental inventory.

"My name is Dr. Valentine. But my friends call me Cat" One little boy giggles. Cat smiles. "That's right. Isn't it cute? Now, what are all your names?"

* * *

Rob presses the button to raise his hospital bed. He can see Cook peeking through the door into the hallway.

"What are you doing?" he asks.

"I don't like this. Something's going on."

Rob shrugs with the shoulder furthest from his bandage. "Maybe they lost their power, too."

"Don't think so. I'm getting a bad vibe from this situation."

"Isn't that a little paranoid?"

"Now, Shapiro," Cook smiles. "Don't start sounding like everybody else."

* * *

Tori continues to bite her lip until it bled. She had to stay quiet. Her hair is brushed aside and a hand strokes her neck. With a single violent motion, Tori is pulled out from her hiding space and smacked onto the cold, steel slab.

"Found you," the aggressor breathed menacingly. He tilts his head, inquisitive like an animal. "Aren't you a pretty, pretty one." Tori's head is forced by one hand onto the table while the other pins her torso. She kicks wildly. "Shame you have to die. Well, better you than me, right?"

Tori screams until she runs out of air. After catching her breath, she tries to scream more. Slowly, her attacker eases his eager incisors toward her long, smooth neck.

In the blink of an eye, the deadly weight on Tori's chest is knocked off. She rolls to the edge of the table and looks down at the scuffle on the floor. A dark-haired woman straddled the man, choking him with her bare hands.

"FUCKING DIE!" she grits through her teeth.

The male then puts his hand on the female's face and pushes it, sending her flying into the x-ray display, shattering the panels and light bulbs.

Tori covers her mouth in shock at the impossible display.

He gets up and walks over to the down woman amid the wreckage. Tori swears she heard a doglike growl before what happened next. The woman leapt up and like a battering ram knocked the guy across the room. His trajectory is hindered by a 12-inch handle on the edge of the sink. It was shiny silver. It's red now.

The woman looks at the impaled dead man before her. She then turns around. Her eyes locked with Tori and the human opened her mouth and leaned back as if she had seen a ghost.

"Are you okay?" Jade asks the girl.

"Um, I'm okay, I guess." Tori looked for the words, squinting her eyes. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Wait, are you alright?"

"What?" Jade looks behind her at the broken ex-ray display. "Oh, yeah." She looks back at Tori. "I'm fine."

Jade walks to leave the room. Tori grabs her arm and gets shot a dirty look.

"Hold on!"

"WHAT?!"

"What _are_ you?"

"Excuse me?"

Tori just widens her eyes at such an obvious question.

"Well," Jade begins. "I guess I'm just like him, only less dead."

"He was trying to kill me; acted like he wanted to eat me."

"It'll happen. More often if you don't let me go."

"Can I at least get your name?"

Jade sighs heavily, showing off her frustration. "If I tell you, will you let go of my arm so I don't have to break yours?"

Tori nods.

"It's Jade." She stares at the hapless human. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"So, I don't get _your_ name?"

"T-Tori."

She lets go and Jade disappears from sight.


	14. Chapter 14

Rob leans against the doorway to his room. Cook had left a half hour ago to look around. He hadn't been back nor has he tried to contact him through his phone. He cocks his gun from his partner recovered from the scene. Peering out into the hall, he slowly makes his way out, pistol leading the way.

Beck runs into his view and the cop readies his trigger finger.

"Freeze!"

The long-haired mercenary is caught off guard by the command to cease. He walks toward Rob, holding up his hand.

"Don't shoot," he says nervously. His gaze concentrated on the gunman. "Are you a cop?"

"Yes, so you better know that I'm serious that I _will_ shoot if you don't put whatever you're carrying down." Rob studies the object in Beck's hands. "What _is_ that?"

"A hunting rifle."

"What the hell do you hunt with that?"

Beck half smiles. "You really want to know?"

Rob cracks his neck in a swift motion. "You still haven't relinquished your weapon."

Beck looks up briefly. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"And why's that?"

"LOOK OUT!" Beck pointing above Rob's head.

He turns to find a crazed lady on the ceiling like an insect. She stares down at Rob with wide eyes and a gaping maw. But in a flash of light and blood, the person? melts away and leaves nothing but the faintest of ashes on the white floor. Rob just stared at the sight and then back at Beck, whose rifle emits a buff of smoke from being recently fired.

"What the fuck was that?"

Beck walks over to Rob and gestures for him to lower his gun. "Now listen to me very carefully."

* * *

Tori races down the stairs to get to the ground floor. It wasn't until she got down to the lobby, that her friend flashed into her head. _Damn, I should have made sure Max was alright_. But she immediately forgot about all that when she saw her father on the floor.

"DAD!," running over to him.

She turns him over and he groans like he normally does when he has a massive headache. _Did somebody knock him out?_

"Dad! Wake up; please wake up!"

"Tori…Thank God you're safe." Mr. Vega says, holding his head while attempting to rise.

"What is going on?"

"I don't know. Some crazed lunatic came in here babbling about an assault on the hospital and then the lights went…"

"Dad, something _IS_ going on here." Tori hesitates before the next words. "I was attacked."

His face hardened but his eyes remained sympathetic. "What? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I am, dad. Thanks to Jade."

He blinked, confused. "Who's Jade?"

"She's the one who came in and saved me."

"Well, it's good to hear that somebody like that is out there; I'm afraid there's more than just who came after you."

"Where are you going?"

"I've got two of my men in this building, still. One of them got shot the night before."

Tori nodded, fighting back tears. "Okay, you're right. Please be careful."

"You do the same," he says hugging his daughter. "I want you to stay by the front of the lobby. Stay close to the daylight."

"Okay," she said nodding.

* * *

"So, it pretty much handles the same way a standard one does." Beck says. "It's all in the bullets."

Rob feels the strange weapon with his hands. "This is absolutely insane, you know that?"

"Trust me, friend; these things are real."

"Oh, no problem there. We better split up. I'll take the west wing." The begin to part ways but Rob turns around. "Wait."

"Yeah."

"Any special way to hit these things?"

"With what you're packin, not really. Just do yourself a favor."

"And what's that?," Rob sounding mildly annoyed.

"When you shoot a bloodsucker, you better not miss."

"Great, thanks."

* * *

"CAT" one of the small girls shouted and hid behind the doctor.

"What is it, Caitlyn?"

"I heard something. I think it's a monster."

"Well I happen to know for a fact that monsters are afraid of the doctor."

"But we're not afraid of you," one boy nearby says.

"Exactly," Cat smiles. "So you are all braver than any monster out there. Nothing's going to get you."

Caitlyn lays her head on Cat's lap, looking up at her. "Promise?"

Cat swallows a gulp and pats the girl on the head, comfortingly. "I promise, sweetheart."

The whole room is startled when the main entrance begins to pound furiously. Someone (or something) was trying to get in.

"It's coming!" Caitlyn cries.

* * *

Jade roams the halls. She gets ambushed by two vampires and the fight

"She killed Lyriz," one of them says.

They have at it back and forth between the walls and even make it onto the ceiling once or twice. When Jade finally got the angle she was looking for, she snapped the neck of one hard enough to sever the head. The other one runs away but before he could disappear from sight, he vanishes in a cloud of burnt flesh.

Beck stares at his recent captor, raising his gun.

"What are you doing?" Jade asked pissed off.

"You think this changes everything, Jade?" Beck coldly responds. "That I was going to let you go? So you could feed on some hapless victim? At the end of the day, you're just another bloodsucking demon."

"You son of a bitch! Can't you see that I'm trying to help?"

"You want to know how you can help? By turning into the dirt your body was meant to dissolve to."

Déjà vu rears its head when Captain Vega points his gun at Beck.

"You have got to be kidding me," the vampire hunter growls.

"Drop it," the cop orders.

"You don't understand…"

"I understand that you were going to kill this young lady."

"Looks can be deceiving, officer."

Vega moves in closer, having a more confident kill shot. "Listen, buster, that woman there saved my daughter's life. So I suggest you put your weapon down!"

Beck slowly kneels down and places his gun gently on the floor. Vega handcuffs him and brings him back to his feet.

He looks at Jade. "I don't know who or what you are, but I've seen what you can do."

_Was he watching that fight back there?_

"You're not…usual but you want to help. And in times like this, that's enough."

Jade nods and runs away.


	15. Chapter 15

The kids gathered closely to Cat, whimpering at the pounding on the door. With a loud crunch, the middle of the door splintered. She let out an audible gasp-scream. The young patients squeezed tightly together.

Finally, the door came down with a bang. Standing in the doorway is a tall, dark stranger. He scans the room furiously and settles on the warm pile of flesh situated in the middle of the room.

Licking his lips, he moves in closer.

"Hey, asshole!"

The intruder turns around to see Shapiro pointing his gun at him.

"Don't even think about it," he adds.

The vampire growls at the interruption and leaps at him. Without missing a beat, Rob aims and fires. The creep flash-fries in midair. He stares down at the fresh kill, or what's left of him.

Looking up at his frightened audience, Rob asks "Is everyone okay?"

Cat wipes her eyes, tearing up from being relieved.

* * *

Backup arrived and Captain Vega ushered the boys in blue throughout the hospital, aiding the survivors in finding medical attention. Tori helped keep the children entertained as the parents were being called and being let in.

By the time the majority of police personnel have dissipated, only one suspect has been apprehended: one Beck Oliver. No priors but his unusual cache of weapons is being investigated. Vega volunteered to command the team assessing the situation at the hospital and everything involving this Oliver person.

He wisely figured that as close to the chest this case was, the better. The details were just too outrageous for the major case quad to handle. Besides, Vega wanted to screen the other members of his unit. He appointed Rob Shapiro having witnessed (and killed) one of those things himself. Shapiro suggested utilizing Dr. Valentine for her medical expertise. These creatures had to have a biology. Vega said he'd think about it.

* * *

"Officer Shapiro." Cat called from across the lobby.

"Please, its Rob."

She stops shy of a few inches from him. "Okay…_Rob_. Well, you can call me Cat."

Rob snickers a little.

Cat shuts her eyes. "Yeah, that's the reaction I usually get. It's stupid; had that nickname ever since school…"

"No, no, I like it. It's really…you."

She smiles, looking into the eyes of her patient-turned-rescuer.

"You look good in that uniform, officer" she says batting her eyes.

Rob blushes "And I think your uniform is very becoming on you, doc."

Cat looks down at her white coat. "Well, it seems to be the only thing this job has going for it."

"Oh I don't know. You save lives every day."

"And what do you think _you_ do?"

"The hours do get crazy at times," Rob says. "They get long and it gets kind of lonely.

"I know the feeling."

"Maybe if we both find ourselves getting off late, we could get a cup of coffee…the both of us…together I mean."

She looks at him flirtatiously. "I'd like that." She digs into her shirt pocket and pulls out a stiff, white card and slips it into his breast pocket. "My card."

"It was really nice to meet you, doc. I mean Cat."

"I'm, uh, gonna need that hand back."

Rob looks down and notices that he has been holding her hand this whole time. He immediately releases it and turns beat red.

"Bye," the saucy redhead said as she waved and walked.

Rob turns around to leave and gets startled by a familiar face.

"I knew it," Cook stood there grinning.

"Where have you been?"

"Trapped in a basement."

"What?"

"I thought I heard noises from a utility basement and apparently it locks automatically and I didn't have the key."

"Nice, well you didn't miss much."

"Not from the rumors I've heard. Also hear that Vega's forming his own unit; something top secret. You're really getting in on that?"

Rob nods, "Yes."

Cook puts his hand on the shoulder of his young partner. "Just be careful, Rob. Such special projects raises eyebrows from I.A."

"I will. Thanks."

* * *

Night fell on the hospital. Power has been restored for several hours. The massive building shone brightly. Andre approaches a figure sitting on the edge of the roof.

"There you are," he says.

Jade turns around and looks at Andre. "Hey."

"Where've you been?"

"Hiding. Like you. Just waiting for nightfall."

"Well, its here."

"Thanks, I didn't notice. Did you cover their tracks?"

"Yeah. All the packs of tainted blood have been removed."

Jade turns away to look ahead. "Good."

Andre goes over and sits beside her. "Been doing some thinking?"

"Am I _that_ transparent?"

"So what are you thinking about?"

Jade sighs, looking down at the city below. "What's the point? The point of me surviving, I mean. Why didn't I just die like my sister?"

"I don't know. I like to think that there is a reason."

"Well, I don't see it," Jade says while standing up to leave,

"Hey!" Jade turns around. "Like it or not, those people owe you their lives. You did a great thing here, whether or not you care to admit it."

"I was just looking for some payback and dumb luck led me here. That hardly sounds heroic."

Andre tilts his head, looking sad. "You're used to beating yourself up, aren't you? You don't think that anything good could or should happen to you."

Jade just stares at him with a mixture of anger and melancholy. "Gotta go. Don't get too much sun, Andre."

* * *

Jade walks through the door to the roof and heads down the flight of stairs. Her progress is obstructed by Tori Vega, who is leaning against a wall.

"I had a feeling you were up here somewhere," she said.

Jade frowns "What, is everyone looking for me?"

Tori pouts at the poor reception of that initial greeting.

"What can I do for you?" Jade dryly asks.

"Nothing; you just…ran off before I could thank you."

Jade rolls her eyes. "Yeah, you did."

"No," Tori steps closer. "Not really."

The human gently places her hands on the vampire's face and draws them closer and closer for a short and sweet kiss. Jade raised her hand defensively at one point but lowered it. The hot and cold together was intriguing for both and when it was all over, Jade just stood there dumbstruck.

"Bit of an overreaction?" Jade finally quips.

"I don't think so. You _did_ save my life."

"Well, people will speculate…"

"You don't understand. This wasn't the first time."

Now Jade was even more confused than she was a second ago.

"You know," Tori holding Jade's hand and stroking it. The latter did not resist. "Even before I knew that I liked girls, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had even seen and you haven't aged a day."

Jade got nervous, feeling like she was being outed (in more ways than one).

"But I didn't need that to know that you were some kind of protector…an angel."

"What?"

"I mean, it's not every day that you're falling and someone flies through the air to catch you."

"I never…" Jade's eyes then widen larger than they ever had before. She looked at the brown-haired girl standing in front of her.

_It couldn't be. It had been nine years, but…_

Tori smiles when she can see in Jade's eyes that she remembers. "That cop you told me to go to was Sergeant David Vega. He adopted me when they couldn't find any family. His wife, Holly, was ecstatic. They had another daughter but she was a high-risk pregnancy. They always wanted another child."

Jade is caught off guard when Tori hugs her as tightly as she did years before.

"Everything you said was right," she coughed up through tears. "Everything. It did get better…and I did get happier." Tori then lets Jade go. "You must think I'm really stupid," she says in a low voice, rubbing her arm. "Sorry. I just wanted to tell you that you saved my life in so many ways."

Jade watches as Tori turns to walk away.

_This is crazy. Who is this girl? She knows that I'm clearly not human but she actually kissed me? Not my first, but it was the most lovely one I have ever tasted. Was she right? Did I really make a difference back there? Did I actually do something good?_

Tori is getting further away and Jade runs after her,

_I must be losing my mind. Fuck it. I have been miserable for most of my existence and this girl made me feel like the luckiest person in a few clumsy moments. I'm not letting her get away. _

"Hold up," Jade calls out.

Tori turns around, wiping her eyes but managing a half smile.

"It's…um…very late. You shouldn't be going home alone. Would you like some company?"

"I'd like that."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: We are at the end, folks. It's been great and I appreciate all your reviews, favorites and follows. I'm going to take a break from writing but you will expect to see me leaving reviews. I have to at least be reading. I just need to recharge and prepare for all the holiday stuff with family and work. The next couple of months are going to be really exciting. **

**I've got some good news for people who've become fans of this story: there's more. I actually have ideas for a sequel scribbled down and if you blow up my inbox enough, I just might go through with it and a ****_Blood Angel 2_**** will be posted.**

**I have gotten requests for sequels before and this is the first time I would be willing and able to do so. But again, I don't believe in giving was is not asked for or wanted. If you feel the story is fine where it sits, great. If you really want more, I would be more than happy to take you deeper and further.**

**So thanks again and keep an eye out for my next story. **

* * *

The chill in the air snapped like a bullwhip against Tori's skin. She hiked up her jacket but it could only cover so much. The cold didn't bother Jade.

"So," Jade feigning a conversation. "Tell me more about your family."

"Oh, well" Tori rubbing her arms to keep warm. "Mom is great. She's a substitute teacher. You met my dad. Older sis is cool but she can be a handful sometimes."

"Usually it's the younger siblings that are the handfuls."

"Well, you've never met Trina."

Jade couldn't help but notice Tori staring at her. "What?"

"You. You're adorable."

"I've been called a lot of things the last few years and that's not one of them."

"Well someone _should_ because you _are_," Tori bumping shoulders with Jade. She wanted to poke her but her hands were warmer in her pants pockets. "Right here."

They stop in front of a large apartment complex.

"Can I, I don't know, call you?"

"Yeah…I don't exactly have a phone…so…"

"Oh," Tori lowered her head.

"But there's gotta be a payphone left somewhere in this miserable town, right?"

"I guess so," Tori grins. She takes out a piece of paper, a folded flyer from the hospital, and wrote on the back of it. Her heart skips a beat when their hands touch during the pass.

"You're gonna be trouble Tori Vega," Jade smiles at the human. "I can tell."

"Goodnight, Jade."

"Night."

Jade left the front entrance and started downtown. She wasn't going anywhere in particular; just allowing her body to mimic her own mind's wandering. Her heart was filled with joy for the first time. She has always been happy with her sister, the only other person she loved, and saw hope whenever she looked at her face.

But Tori Vega was different. She was living proof that she did right by someone in her life. That Jade's own existence had a real impact; she wasn't a mistake. Tori clearly harbored feelings for her on an abstract level as well. But, could they ever be together…that way?

Jade shook her head. Impossible. She was a vampire and her a human. It's not done. No good can come of this. Still…

Her train of thought is derailed by an attack in the park yards away. It was nowhere in sight, but Jade could unmistakably hear the scuffle. She looked around, seeking some form of assistance.

Nobody.

Jade knew then what she had to do and soon would turn into what she was destined to do all along.

She scaled the massive wall hiding the park from the streets where she would give a certain serial rapist the scare of a lifetime.


End file.
